During the past several years the world has witnessed a large number of disasters. For example each year, there are typically several hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, terrorist attacks, and various other disasters which affect people around the world. Some of these disasters are caused by the forces of nature, while others are caused by humans. However, regardless of the cause, when a disaster strikes normal communication channels are often disrupted, making it difficult or impossible for those people impacted by the disaster to communicate with one another, and/or to let others know where they are and/or how they can be reached.
Most recently, some of the communication problems which can be caused by a disaster were demonstrated when hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana in 2005. After the hurricane destroyed large portions of the state, many people who were impacted by the storm were unable to communicate due to damage caused to communication networks, telephone lines, signal transmission towers, and other items of the communication infrastructure. To further complicate the situation, many personal communication devices such as telephones, mobile phones, computers and/or other devices were lost or destroyed during the storm. As a result, in many cases it would take days, weeks, or even months for those impacted by the storm to once again regain contact with their loved ones, friends, employers, and/or to inform others of alternate ways of contacting them.